Autographic register



y 1934- c. J. MANUEL. 1,957,017

AUTOGRAPHIC REGI STER Filed Sept. 5, 1931. 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. CHARLES J MANUEL,

M, vw c M ATTORNEYS.

May 1, 1934- c. J. MANUEL AUTOGRAPHIC REGISTER Filed Sept. 5, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 CHAELES j MANUEL,

.BY M, .Qovv t W A TTORNEYS.

Patented May 1, 1934 UNITED STATES AUTOGRAPHIC REGISTER Charles J. Manuel, Dover, N. H., assignor to American Sales Book Company, Limited, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, a corporation of Ontario, Canada Application September 5, 1931, Serial No. 561,342

23 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for support; ing and controlling record strips for manifolding inscription, and with respect to its more specific features, to an autographic register or the like. One object of the invention is the provision of a simple and practical construction for effecting successive registration of sets of superposed, printed forms coming from a supply of superposed, zigzag folded, continuous; paper record :0 strips.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple and eflicient construction for utilizing the folds or weakened lines in the strips in effecting registration of superposed printed forms.

7 Another object is the provision of a small, portable autographic register, wherewith the feeding and registry of therecord strips may be accomplished readily and accurately and by inexpensive construction. v

Qther objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts, which willbe exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of, the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a longitudinal, vertical section of an apparatus embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus, partly brokemaway to show forward interior construc; tion;

showing the hollow cover in open position so as to reveal underlying parts;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a paper record supply which may be utilized in the apparatus, and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing a detail of modified form.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, the apparatus illustrated is a relatively small, portable autographic register in which the feed of the record strips is effected manually by grasping the record strips. The frame of the apparatus includes a base, or base plate, 1 on which are fore and aft walls 2 and sidewalls 3, these latter being adjustabletoward and from each other in slots in the base to accommodate a pack of record strips disposed between the walls 2 and 3, as illus- 1 A able device. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the apparatus,-

trated in Fig. 1. The hollow cover includes an upper plate, or platen 4, and a depending flange, or skirt 5, extending completely around the platen, and pivoted to the base by the hinges 6. When the cover is lowered, so that the platen 4 is in (:0 writing position as illustrated in Fig. 1, the coveris held down by a latch pin '7 engaging an opening 8 in the cover; By pressing the latch pinj inwardly, the cover may readily be raised. 4

The paper record supply illustrated for the present embodiment consists of a plurality of long record strips 9, 10 and 11, in superposed relation to each other, this assembly .being zigzag folded so as to form a flat supply packet, indicated at 12 (Fig. 1) which packet may be readily 7o placed on the base between the walls 2 and 3. Each of the strips of the packet has a line of perforations, or weakening line 13 coincidentwith each of its fold lines, and the weakened fold lines "register with each other in superposed relation,

the 'record strips being provided with printed forms 14 between the fold lines. In the preferred embodiment, long, continuous, carbon strips 15 are interleaved with the record strips, being interfolded with, the record strips'in the supply so packet. It is to be understood, however, that the apparatus may be provided with separate carbon sheets coming from the side and mounted upon* the apparatus so as to be interleaved with the record strips. Or, in some instances, both the separatelside carbons and the continuous interfolded carbon strips may be used. In Fig. 2, the numeral 16 indicates a receptacle at the side of the platen 4 and containing a roll 1'7 01 carbon paper, which carbon paper may be drawn to the opposite side of the platen and held by any suitc This carbon paper may be interleaved with the record strips 9, 10 and 11 in case it is desired to utilize side carbons. And it may be used either with or without the continuous, folded carbon strips interleaved in the packet of record'strips. l

As illustrated incFig. 1, the superposed strips are drawn from the supply packet 12, through an opening 18 at the rear of the cover; thence they extend over the top plate, or platen .4 of the cover to the'fro1-t of the apparatus. In the present embodiment, the top plate of the cover isof relatively thin metal, and the edge of the opening 18 forms a rear, stationary, strip-aligner,

or feeding force exerted on the strips at the front of the apparatus. Thus, as the strips are pulled over the platen from the supply, the resistance to movement of the intermediate portions of the strips over the straight strip-aligning and stripguiding edge 19 is not so great as that ofiered by the sharper bend at the weakened line. When the weakened line arrives, the operator will feel a pronounced check to advance and will realize that the strips are in registry position, or at least in approximate registry position, in the machine.

In order to promote the guiding and registering of the strips, a guiding device is employed which cooperates to urge the strips toward the aligning edge 19. In the present embodiment, the guiding means includes a movable, concave strip-guide which is composed of an angle plate having two arms 20 and 21 at angles to each other. The arm 20 provides a strip-gripper, or gripper-jaw, which is movable toward and from the platen 4 and which cooperates with the platen to grip the strip at the rear of the platen. The angle plate is disposed with its concavity facing the aligner 19, it being pivoted on a shaft 22 journaled in brackets beneath the cover plate, a helical spring 23 being mounted automatically to urge the arm 20 into gripping cooperation with the platen 4. As illustrated, the angle plate projects through the strip passageway 18, the upstanding arm 21 of the plate being adapted to serve as a guide, or abutment, to restrain the record strips from bulging rearwardly and thereby biasing the strips to fold around the aligning edge 18. Whereas in the illustrated embodiment the concave guide is formed of an angle plate having the two arms 20 and 21, it is to be understood that the concave guide may be otherwise formed, as for instance by an arch-shaped strip deflector, or frame, composed of side pieces 25 connected by round bars, as shown in Fig. 5.

At a suitable point of the path of the strips, a strip-retracting device is employed to assist in controlling and aligning the strips. In the present embodiment, this device comprises a reciprocally movable plate, or bar 30, one side of which provides a straight edge 31, this bar being movable in a line intersecting the angle plate guide before referred to. The strip-retracting plate 30 is disposed beneath the platen 4, adjacent the straight edge 19, and is movable into and out of position projecting outside the aligning edge 19. To this end it forms a part of, or may be connected to, a spring-retracted slide reciprocally movable on the bottom face of the platen. To the retracting bar 30 is brazed the longitudinal slide-bar 32 in turn brazed to the transverse slide-bar 33 located near the front of the machine. The bars 30, 32 and 33 provide a reciprocally movable slide for actuating the straight edge 31. For drawing the bar 30 in one direction to dispose the straight edge 31 out of register with the opening18 and forwardly of the aligning edge 19, as shown in Fig. 2, one or more springs may be used. As illustrated, two helical springs 34 and 35 each has one end connected to a pin 36, on slide-bar 33, their opposite ends being fixed to brackets 3'7 on the skirt 5 of the cover. The strip-retracting device is furnished with a conveniently accessible handle for manual operation. In the present embodiment, this handle is furnished by a reciprocally movable member, or hood 38 overlying the platen at the front of the machine. This hood is of a size readily to be grasped and is a hollow, rectangular bodyv the lower edge of the front wall 39 of which is turned slightly outwardly to and forth over this recess 51.

provide a strip-tearing bar 40. The front and rear walls of the hood are spaced from the platen 4 to permit the strips to pass. The side walls of the hood have downwardly extending lugs 41, one at either side, which engage in recesses 42 in the cover and are fixed to the transverse slidebar 33. Suitable keepers 43 and 44, fixed to the under face of the platen 4, serve to keep the slide in place. By coacting with the bar 3, the keepers 44 limit the extent of movement of the retracting bar 30.

Forwardly positioned in the apparatus is a strip-detainer which cooperates resiliently to grip the strip and assist in holding it in position for the writing operation. As illustrated, the strip-detainer comprises a transversely disposed gripper-plate 45 adapted to cooperate with the upper face of the cover or the platen 4 to grip the strip at the forward end of the apparatus. This gripper-plate is supported for pivotal'movement by a shaft 46, in turn supported by lugs 47 struck up from the platen, a spring 48 surrounding the shaft 46 and arranged to urge the gripper 45 into gripping relation to the strip on the platen 4.

The strip-detainer 45 lies inside the hood 38 so as to be protected and has an operating arm or finger 49 protruding from the hood through a .slot 50 in the rear wall of the hood. The slot 50 is deep enough to permit depression of the finger 49 so as to raise the gripper 45 from the strips.

- In the front wall of the skirt 5 of the cover is a relatively deep and wide recess, notch or depression 51, to permit the finger of the operator to reach under the strips to grasp them at their forward ends. The handle or hood 38 shifts back In the forward position of the hood, the tearing bar is correctly, operatively located; in its rear position the strips are exposed for convenient grippi To prepare the apparatus preliminary to inscribing the'sheets, the zigzag folded supply pack 12 is disposed between the walls 2 and. 3, as illustrated in Fig. 1, the advance ends of the superposed strips being threaded through the strip passageway 18, thence over the platen 4, the front ends of the strips being drawn beneath the hood 38. More readily to permit this threading, the rear gripper-jaw 20 may be elevated by hand, the forward gripper-jaw 45 also being relieved of strip grip'if need be. Advancedforms in superposed relation will then lie in writing position on the platen 4, with their advance edges coincident with the forward edges of the tearing bar 40. The straight edge 19 is disposed at such point in rear that when the weakened fold lines coincide with this edge, the advance weakened lines of the forms on the platen coincide with the tearing bar. To assist in aligning the printed forms on the platen, the retracting bar 30 is actuated rearwardly with the result of pressing against and retreating the strips, and perfecting the transverse, superposed alignment at this point. It will be seen that the retracting bar 30 may be operated as many times as needed, and quite independently of operation of the detainer 45 or of the rear angle plate. Both the angle plate and the gripper-jaw tracting bar 30 therefromas illustrated. The springs 34 restore the tearing bar toadvance position to coincide with the weakened lines when the next rear weakened lines coincide with the straight edge 19. By moving the tearing bar rearwardly by operation of the hood, the front ends of the strips may readily be grasped for further advancement. It will be seen that the stripretracting device not only is adapted to retract the strips but also assists in aligning the strips. Furthermore, when the weakened lines coincide with the straight edge 19 so that the, strips bend or fold sharply around this edge, the bar 30, when moved rearwardly, cooperates to lessen the angle ly as described, it will be seen that it engages inthe acute anglmbetween the record strips andthe under side of the platen adjacent to the edge 19, thus effecting a slight unfolding of the record strips at this point so as to aid in freeing the strips from their engagement with the edge. The resistance to forward movement of the strips is thus materially decreased by this action. Also it will be observed that the aligner 19 is in the form of a transverse checking edge formed to the rearward of the platen, providing, in effect, a detent adapted to engage in the fold of the record strips so as to check their advancement. The fact that the record strips are provided with transverse weakened lines or similar formations tending to weaken the resistance to strip bending causes the strip to bend very sharply as each successive set of weakened lines comes into registry with the detent.'

Also, it will be noted that when the bar 30 is in its rear position, the tearing bar 19 and'the hood are in their rear positions, the forward edge of the strips being thereby exposedfor readily being grasped. Then by pulling"the strips, the next succeeding set of superposed forms may readily be brought into writing position on the platen 4, and the inscribed forms may be torn off along the weakened line in substantial coincidence with the tearing bar. In case side carbons are employed, they may be drawn across the platen in i interleaved relation with the record strips and 1. Apparatus of the character described hav ing, in combination, means for guiding a strip to writing position including a transverse strip checking edge, and a strip-retracting device mov-.

able into and out of position projecting outside said checking edge. v

2. Apparatus of the character described having, in combination, means for guiding a strip to writing position, including a transverse strip checking edge and a contiguous gripper, and a strip-retracting device movable into and out of position projecting outside said'checking edge.

3. Apparatus of the character described having, in combination, a concave strip-guiding clevice, a transverse checking edge adjacent thereto, and a strip-retracting device reciprocally movablein a line intersecting said concave device.

4. Apparatus of the character described having, in combination, a manually reciprocal tearing bar, and astrip-retracting device connected for being actuated from said tearing bar.

5. Apparatus of the character described having, in combination, a forwardly positioned stripdetainer, a strip-retracting device, and a reciprocally movable hood overlying said strip-detainer and operatively connected for actuating said rctracting device.

6. Apparatus of the character described having, in combination, a reciprocally movable straight-edge movable to retract a strip, a reciprocally movable. handle, operating devices for actuating said straight-edge from said handle, said devices includin a spring moiuited to actuate said straight-edge in one direction.

'7. Apparatus of the character described hav-u ing, in combination, a strip checking edge, a device positioned adjacent to said edge and'movable to retract the strip, and a concave stripguide cooperable to urge the strip toward said edge and said strip-retracting device.

8. Apparatus of the character described having, in combination, a strip-aligner and a concave, strip-guiding plate pivoted to the rearward of said strip-aligner for movement into out of position to cooperate with said aligner to grip the strip, and a spring urging said guiding plate into strip-gripping position.

9. Apparatus of the character described having, in combination, a platen having an opening for passage of a record strip and a pivot-ally mounted strip-guide projecting through said opening, said guide having an angle plate one arm of which moves toward and from said platen as the guide oscillates, and a spring mounted to urge said arm toward said platen.

10. An autographic register having, in combination, a frame, a reciprocally movable, front handle, a rear, strip-controlling member, and operative connections between said handle and controlling member for actuating the latter.

11. An autographic register having, in 'combination, a frame, a reciprocally movable, front handle, a rear, strip-controlling member, operative connections between said handle and controlling member for actuating the latter from said handle, and a strip-detainerlying inside said handle and having an operating arm protruding therefrom.

12. An autographic register having, in combination, a frame, a reciprocally movable, front handle, a rear, strip-controlling member, lugs upstanding from said frame, and a manually operable, pivoted, strip-detainer supported by said lugs for pivotalmovement. I 13. An autographic register having, in combination, a frame, a reciprocally movable, front handle, a rear, strip-controlling member, lugs upstanding from said frame, and a manually operable, pivoted, strip-detainer supported by said lugs for pivotal movement, said handle overlying said detainer.

14. An autographic register having, in combination, a frame, a reciprocally movable, front handle, a rear, strip-controlling member, lugsj upstanding from said frame, and a manually operable, pivoted, strip-detainer supported by said lugs for pivotal movement, said handle overlying said detainer and having a tearing-bar.

15. An autographic register having, in combination, a frame, a reciprocally movable, front handle, a rear, strip-controlling member, and operative connections between said handle and controlling member for actuating the latter from said handle, said frame having a front recess over which said handle shifts in its reciprocal movement.

16. An autographic register having, in combination, a platen, a reciprocally movable, front handle, a rear, stationary, strip-aligner, a rear, movable, strip-aligner, and means for actuating said movable aligner from said handle.

1'7. An autographic register-having, in combination, a platen, a reciprocally movable, front handle, a rear, stationary, strip-aligner, a rear, movable, strip-aligner, and a rear, oscillatable, strip-guide, the concavity of which faces both said stationary and said movable strip-aligners.

18. An autographic register having, in combination, a platen, a reciprocally movable, front handle, a rear, stationary, strip-aligner, a rear, movable, strip-aligner, a rear, oscillatable, concave, strip-guide, the concavity of which faces both said stationary and said movable stripaligners, and a strip-detainer adjacent said handle and operable separately therefrom.

19. An autographic register having, in combination, a platen, a reciprocally movable, front handle, a rear, stationary, strip-aligner, a rear, movable, strip-aligner, a rear, oscillatable, concave, strip-guide, the concavity of which faces both said stationary and said movable stripaligners, and a strip-detainer adjacent said handle and operable separately therefrom, said handle including a tearing-bar.

eonor? 20. An autographic register having, in combination, a platen, a reciprocally movable, front handle, a rear, stationary, strip-aligner, a rear, movable, strip-aligner, a rear, oscillatable, concave, strip-guide, the concavity of which faces both said'stationary and said movable stripaligners, a strip-detainer adjacent said handle and operable separately therefrom, said handle including a tearing bar, and a spring-retracted slide connecting said movable strip-aligner for actuation from said handle.

21. Apparatus of the character described hav-- ing, in combination, a strip-aligner around which the strips are adapted to fold, and a device movably mounted adjacent to said strip-aligner and ope able to cause unfolding action of the strips at 5 id aligner.

22. Apparatus of the character described having, in combination, a strip-aligner around which the strips are adapted to fold, a device operable to cause unfolding action of the strips at said aligner, and a tearing bar operatively connected for operating said unfolding device.

23. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a platen, a strip-checking detent positioned rearwardly of said platen, a stripreleasing device movably mounted adjacent said detent, a strip-tearing bar positioned forwardly of the platen and being rearwardly retractable, and operating connections for operating said strip-releasing device upon retraction of said tearing bar.

CHARLES J. MANUEL. 

